Suspended conveyer



Jan. W, 1941 L. E. cowEY SUSPENDED CONVEYER Filed Aug. 17, 19:58

4 Sheets-Sheet l Elma/whom Leanmwfii E: 25,

Jan. 14, 1941. 11.... E. COWEY SUSPENDED CONVEYER Filed Aug. 17, 1938 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Jam M, W41 L. E. COWEY 2,229,0fl2

SUSPENDED GONVEYER 4- Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 17, 1938 Jan. 14, 1941.l... EQCOWEY 2,229,002

SUSPENDED GQNVEYER Filed Aug. 17, 1938 4 Sheets-sheaf, 4

Patented Jan. 14, 1941 lTED STATES SUSPENDE D CONVEYER Leonard EugeneCowey, Richmond, England Application August 17, 1938, Serial No. 225,462In Great Britain August 17, 1937 1 Claim.

This invention relates to overhead conveyers for transporting goods ofthe kind comprising a single overhead trackway for trolleys and thelike, each trolley comprising a pendant arm suspended on a grooved wheelor roller which is driven along the track by means of a chain arrangedbeneath the track and operated from a source of power through sprocketgearing.

The object of the invention is to simplify and improve the constructionof the track rail and its supports and likewise the trolleys which runthereon, in order to provide a light and efficient construction ofoverhead conveyer of the kind referred to, which is relatively cheap toinstall and maintain and durable and efiicient in use.

These objects are attained by the means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein similar references indicate like parts.

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section illustrating one construction ofoverhead track conveyer in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2is a side view of the trolley and its load carrying device on ahorizontal section of the conveyer track shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is across-sectional eleva- 25. tion, and Fig. 4 an inverted plan viewfurther illustrating the adjustable supports for the track railindicated by chain lines in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan Viewof reversely curved sections of the track rail including the guidingsprockets at the reverse bends; Fig. 6 is a vertical cross section onthe line VI-VI, Fig. 5, illustrating on an enlarged scale the adjustablesupports for the track and guiding sprocket wheel at the outside trackbend 0: and Fig. '7 a sectional plan View on the line VII-VII Fig. 6Fig. 8 is a vertical cross section on the line VIII--VIII, Fig. 5,illustrating on an enlarged scale the adjustable supports for the trackrail and guiding sprocket wheel at the inside track bend y, and Fig. 9is a sectional plan View of the line IX-IK Fig. 8; Fig. 10 illustrates aslightly modified construction of the conveyer track and trolley inaccordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, l indicates the convet/er track which isformed of steel tubing which may be of streamline or oval cross sectionas shown in Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 8, or the track may be formed of circulartubing as in the modified cons 'uction illustrated at Fig. 10 andpresently more particularly referred to.

2 indicates the driving chain which is arranged beneath the tubularconveyer track i that forms the runway for the trolleys. The trolleyseach comprise a wheel or roller 3 and a pendant arm 4, the lower end iiof which latter is connected With a driving chain and with a pivotalload carrying device 6. The pendant trolley arms serve to maintain thedriving chain 2 in correct relationship with the conveyer track I sothat the chain can be operatively engaged by a driving sprocket wheel A(see Fig. 1) connected with a source of power and by guiding and idlersprockets B (see Figs. 6 and 8) by which the driving chain is guided soas to follow the contours of the track.

The rail track is constructed of steel tubing which is carried laterallyof adjustable supports 1 by adjustable horizontal arms or brackets B(see Figs. 3 and 6). Each of the arms or brackets B is in the form of around pin that terminates in a re-- duced shank ta, the free end ofwhich is screw threaded and furnished with a nut 8b.

The track tubing is perforated at intervals to enable the bracket pins 8to be passed through the apertures on the outer face of each tube untilthe shouldered end to: of the pin abuts the opposite side of the tracktube, in which side a smaller perforation is formed for the passage ofthe reduced shank 8a.

The shank is furnished with a tubular distance piece to and projectsthrough a transverse perforation a in the spherical head la 01' thesupport 1. A pair of concave washers 8d are mounted upon the shank sothat they respectively seat upon the opposite sides of the sphericalhead la of the support i when the shank is assembled to the latter. a

Each of the bracket pins 8 is firmly secured in its correspondingsupport 1 by screwing up the nut lib upon the threaded end of its shank3a, so drawing up the shank until the distance piece or sleeve lie andwashers M are clamped tightly against the head la of the support and theadjacent face of the track tube l.

The perforation a in the head la of each sup port is flared or taperedoutwardly from its centre so as to enable universal angular adjustmentsof the shank ta of the bracket pin 3 to be made in the head la when thenut 81) is slackened to allow relative angular movements of the shanktogether with the concave washers 8d carried thereon.

Each of the supports 1 consists of a shank threaded at one end andfurnished with a pair of threaded nuts 'i'b whereby such shanks can besecured in perforations ta in a carrier plate 9, which perforations maybe elongated to allow of limited adjustments of the supports 1 while thecarrier plate is furnished with a longitudinal slot 9?) by which it isadjustably secured by threaded bolts and nuts to to overhead supports.

As illustrated, the overhead supports each consist of a tube It to eachend of which a split tubular socket member II is firmly secured. Each ofsuch split socket members comprises a perforated lug Na and a pair ofperforated ears I II) in which a screw bolt and nut I I is mounted. Thesplit sockets are frictionally secured to the opposite ends of each tubeIll by tightening up the screw bolts and nuts H0 in the perforated earsIIb thereof to form a suspensory support. The upper end of the supportso formed is secured to a ceiling or overhead member by means of a screwbolt I Id, while the slotted carrier plate 9 is secured to theperforated lugs Hot at the lower ends of the overhead supports by meansof the threaded nuts and bolts 90 which are passed through the slot 9bin such plate.

When the trackway is formed of tubing of streamline or ovalcross-section, such tubing is mounted on its supports with its broad endupwards to form the running surface for the conveyer trolleys as shownat Fig. 1. The trolleys each comprise a grooved wheel 3 mounted throughball bearings I2 upon a central bolt or spindle I3 upon one end of whichthe dependent arm 4 of the trolley is secured, such trolley arm beingcranked laterally and mounted upon the spindle I3 so that it issuspended on the side of the track rail remote from the supportingbrackets 8 of the latter, while the peripheral groove of the wheel isshaped so as to straddle the track rail 2 and bear thereon at points onopposite sides of the track rail as shown in Figs. 1 and 10 in order toincrease the stability of the trolley when in operation.

The lower end 5 of the dependent trolley arm is perforated and securedto one of the horizontal links of the driving chain 2 together with oneelement 5a of a load carrying device 6 by means of a bolt and nut I9 asshown in Fig. 1, so that the link of the chain is firmly clamped betweenthe adjacent faces of the trolley arm end 5 and the element 6a, both ofwhich may be grooved as shown to seat securely on the sides of the link.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the load-carrying device is in the form of ahook which is pivotally connected by a bolt and nut 23 to the loadcarrying element 6a so as to enable such hook and its load to hang plumbas the trolley follows inclined contours of the track rail.

To prevent the trolley being displaced from the track a grooved guardroller 20 is mounted upon the inner face of the cranked trolley arm 4ad- J'acent to the reduced lower end of the stream line track tube I asshown in Fig. 1. The grooved guard roller is rotatably mounted upon aspindle 2I secured in the trolley arm 4 so that the grooved periphery ofthe guard roller registers with the lower end of the track rail I whileaffording sufficient clearance to allow limited lateral and verticaldisplacements thereof so that the trolley wheel can readily follow thecontours of the track with a minimum of friction.

The conveyer is operated by means of the driving sprocket A (see Fig. 1)which is mounted upon a rotatable driving shaft 30 connected inv earsIIb as described with reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The spindle 65 of each guiding sprocket B is provided with a flangedhead 65b and is adjustably mounted in a relatively large aperture 650formed in the plate 66 (see Fig. 5) by means of a pair of relativelylarge washers 65d mounted upon such spindle and disposed upon oppositesides of the plate 66.

The large aperture 650 and washers 65d allow the spindle 65 togetherwith the sprocket wheel B mounted thereon to be readily adjustedrelatively to the plate 66 for the purpose of taking up slack in thedriving chain 2 when desired.

The driving sprocket A and likewise the guiding sprocket B are usuallyarranged upon the same side of the fixed conveyer track I as thesupports 1 and bracket pins 8 thereof so that the opposite sides of thetrack on which the trolley arms 4 are suspended is entirely free fromobstruction which might foul such arms. Where, however, the track I hasa reverse bend as shown at 1/, Fig. 5, a guiding sprocket wheel B mustbe arranged on the inner side of such bend to cause the driving chain 2to follow the contour of the track I, while the arms 4 of the trolleysin following such contour are suspended upon the inside of the reversebend.

The supports I and bracket pins 8 of the track are arranged upon theoutside of the reverse bend y remote from the sprocket B in such reversebend, as indicated at y Fig. 5, and in Figs. 8 and 9, to avoid foulingthe suspended trolley arms 4 as they pass round the inside of thereverse bend To effect this, the supports I and bracket pins 8 aredisposed upon the outside of the return bend y by means of bracketplates 9y which are secured to the carrier plate 9x by which a guidesprocket B is supported within the reverse bend y, (see Figs. 5, 8 and9). The bracket plates 911 are disposed radially of the reverse bend y,(see Figs. 5 and 9), and are bent upwards as shown in Fig. 8 so as toallow the trolley wheels 3 to pass freely thereunder as they travel uponthe curved rail track I.

The outer ends of the radially disposed bracket plates 9y are slottedradially of the curve y as indicated at em to enable the correspondingtrack supports to be adjusted therein by means of the nuts and washers'Ib.

At the first or forward bend a." of the double curve the plate 66 whichcarries the guide sprocket B in such curve at is utilised for holdingthe supports 1 of the track I, (see Figs. 6 and 7) and for this purposecircumferential slots 66y are formed in this plate to enable thesupports to be adjustably secured in such slots by means of the nuts 1b,

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 10 the bottom of thecylindrical track tube I is furnished with a grooved guide Ia that issecured by screws Ib centrally of the underside of the track tube andruns continuously along the latter, while the bottom of the crankedconveyer arm 4 is furnished with a vertically disposed pin 40 whichcarries a boss 4d or a roller that projects into the grooved guide Ia soas to leave vertical and lateral movements of the trolley wheel 3 on thetrack I while preventing the trolley being displaced from the track.

I claim:

In an overhead conveyer of the character described, a single tubulartrack rail, transverse angularly adjustable bracket pins on which saidtrack rail is mounted, perforated vertical supports in which said pinsare secured, carrier plates suspended laterally of the tubular trackrail on which said perforated vertical supports are mounted, inclinedtubes suspending said carrier plates, split tubular socket members inwhich said tubes are secured, and a clamp screw for each socket member,each socket member having a perforated lug at its free end, the splitsocket at one end of each tube being bolted to the overhead support andthat at the other end of each tube being secured to said carrier plate.

LEONARD EUGENE COWEY.

